Angry SABC staffers demand immediate suspension, removal of alleged 'Hlaudi enforcers' Kenneth Makatees, Nothando Maseko; investigation into COO Bessie Tugwana's appointment.

Angry SABC staffers at the struggling South African public broadcaster in a strongly-worded letter are demanding the immediate suspension and removal of several alleged executives who are so-called "Hlaudi enforcers" like acting news boss Kenneth Makatees, Nothando Maseko and for an investigation into the appointment of Bessie Tugwana as acting COO.

SABC staffers on the verge of revolt, want Kenneth Makatees a so-called "enforcer of the SABC's Protest Policy" gone.

Kenneth Makatees recently had a meeting with the president Jacob Zuma, with the presidency that has refused to answer calls for a release of the meeting's transcripts.

SABC staffers are furious and are warning the public broadcaster that protected strike action is planned at the public broadcaster.

The SABC, deep in the red and having posted a R977 million loss, is mired in mismanagement, sits with no board and only acting executives in all of its top positions.

The trade unions Bemawu and the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) in a joint letter of demand on Friday to the SABC's top bosses, warned the SABC management that most of the enforcers who supported the controversial and famously matricless executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng who instituted illegal SABC news censorship and the subsequent dismissal of the SABC journalists opposed to it - are still employed at the broadcaster.

SABC staffers say for these alleged enablers who are still employed "at lucrative salaries at the SABC" it is "business as usual, and they have escaped justice".

SABC staffers say they've been subjected to "threats and fear, unilateral restructurings, change of work practices and shift roster, appointments without advertising positions and a zero-percentage increase".

"In the meantime, the SABC is slipping deeper into insolvency, to the extent that it endangers the employment, well-being, and health of our members.

SABC staffers are warning that "it is our view the SABC is still captured by politicians – more than ever – and we cannot sit back to allow this to happen".

The trade unions in their letter say they demand "the immediate appointment of the SABC board already selected and recommended by parliament, and the immediate suspension of all the enforcers of the Protest Policy which resulted in the dismissal of the SABC8, to wit, Kenneth Makatees, Nothando Maseko, Nyana Molete and Sebolelo Ditlhakanyane."

The trade unions in the joint letter says it the immediate suspension of "all the unprocedurally appointed managers and/or people who supported the system to either enforce the Protest Policy, contributed to the poor financial position of the SABC," and those who "neglect to act when policies and procedures were not followed, and did not report irregularities when they became aware of same".

According to Bemawu and the CWU in their letter this includes Tshifhiwa Mulaudzi, the SABC's executive for sales & marketing; Abdul Matthee who Bemawu and the CWU claim is responsible for millions of rand in losses due to the failures of the Landmark system, as well as Keobokile Mosweu, Sizwe Vilikazi, Bessie Tugwana, Tseliso Ralitabo, Ayanda Mkhize and Theresa Geldenhuys.

Staffers demand the immediate suspension of "the status quo in respect of structural changes, work patterns and hours of employees, in particular in News, until a new board is in office, and employees be properly consulted."

They also want "the full and unconditional restoration of the merger between Henley Studios and News, with no change in reporting lines and work practices, without full and proper consultation with employees, and only after a new Board has been appointed."

Other demands include "a salary increase of 10% across the board, backdated to April 2017" and "the appointment of all workers previously on fixed term contracts at News, whose contracts has not been renewed as fixed term, but as freelance contracts, or not at all.

SABC staffers are also calling for "the removal of Kenneth Makatees as acting head of news, to be replaced by a non-enforcer nominated from the competent news staff in Johannesburg," and the "redeployment of Themba Mathonsi to a different department".

Bemawu and the CWU say SABC staffers are "tired of his Gestapo style of management".

SABC staffers are further demanding a "full investigation regarding the protest policy and the report should be made public; an investigation at SABC Sport in respect of the non-renewal of contracts; the redeployment of admin people in operational roles under the disguise to develop them; and the appointment of freelancers to act in permanent positions".

SABC staff also want an investigation into the appointment of Bessie Tugwana as the acting SABC COO "in particular as she has reached retirement age, and allegations of her employing friends".

Staffers also want "the renewal of the contract of Keobokile Mosweu, an alleged enforcer of Motsoeneng to be investigated and reversed".

Bemawu and the CWU told the SABC's acting CEO Nomsa Philiso that it's giving SABC management 7 days to meet these demands.

"Should these demands not be met in 7 days, excluding the unilateral change to the shift roster of News Staff, from date of this letter, labour will file a dispute and ballot its members to seek a mandate for a protected strike".

'The shadows are still around here': Here's 25 new SABC shockers as the broadcaster's staffers make astounding revelations about the chaos inside the crumbling SA public broadcaster.

SABC staffers venting their frustrations and problems have made shocking new revelations about mismanagement, maladministration and the chaotic situation inside the out-of-cash and crumbling South African public broadcaster.

SABC staffers from across the various divisions within the public broadcaster that's hovering on the brink of financial collapse, publicly voiced their concerns and fears, anger and frustration about an unbelievable array of shocking things that's gone haywire at the SABC.

SABC workers inside a jam-packed SABC auditorium, including tele-linked in provincial personnel, spoke up in front of the new SABC interim board and parliament's portfolio committee on communications that visited the SABC.

Here's just 25 of the most shocking things they said:

■ SABC TV licence staffer: "People are too afraid to address this topic. They're too afraid. The TV licence department was going to strike. Hlaudi Motsoeneng and James Aguma came in and they offered us a contract and we were supposed to be permanent. But its obvious that it's not going to happen. It continues with temp, temp, temp."


■ Nelspruit staffer: "Ligwalagwala FM doesn't have a station manager because he was suspended a year ago. We don't know what's happening with that. Then there is an open space that the SABC is paying for, but it's not used. It's just empty. That's wasteful expenditure."


■ Magdaleen Kruger, RSG station manager: "We used to have a public broadcasting division and commercial division. A few month ago it was changed to fall under corporate affairs. Radio is now reporting to corporate affairs.We don't have general managers anymore. There's no decision making."

"At the moment the SABC is the only public broadcaster in the world sitting with this skewed, non-structure for radio."


■ Magdaleen Kruger, RSG station manager: "We are in austerity at the SABC. If we need a mic we can't order it. But at the same time a R10.2 million plan was approved to pay R50 000 each to legends in the music industry. That R10.2 million was not budgeted for, we don't know who approved it."


■ Polokwane staffer: "There is a moratorium on hiring of people at SABC. Limpopo doesn't have a provincial editor for news and current affairs and that creates a lot of instability."


■ Dumile Mateza, TV news presenter: "SABC News (DStv 404) is under threat."

"The channel started in 2013. We had a channel head. Today SABC News doesn't have a channel head. It means the channel has been driven by freelancers, all the time. All the staff you see on that channel has been driven by freelancers."

"When the SABC got the chance to set up this channel on DStv, they got the opportunity to start something that they could take forward once digital TV migration comes in. SABC News has been neglected."

"Whenever there's a funeral it goes on this channel, whenever there's a rally it goes on this channel. The funerals, I actually said to somebody, probably they must go to Avbob, they can sponsor these funerals."

"We have been rudderless on the SABC News channel since Themba Mthembu retired three years ago and we have been left to our own devices."

"Some of us, we're three in a team. We don't even have an executive producer. We do all the executive producing work but we don't get paid for it."


■ Poobie Pillay, ad exec: "Landmark was implemented last year April. Landmark is an ad booking system that was meant to book client adverts and run across all 18 SABC radio stations. Landmark wasn't tested before implementation, there was no research done as to why we should use this software system for radio."

"The SABC has lost million by using and implementing the Landmark system. My colleagues and I've got clients on a daily basis ... we've got, Afrikaans ads are on Ukhozi FM; it's just a mess. We can't execute competitions and we are losing millions of rand."

"I love the SABC. I've always dreamt of working here. It makes me sad to see that we're in financial distress because some people didn't take the time to go and do their research to make sure that this organisation can pay its employees."

"It's a year later and we're passing credits of over R100 million to clients."


■ Carmen Schnider, manager SABC change management department: "I was asked to come here two years ago and to help with change. I'm sorry to say 90% of the changes I'm not involved in at all, nor is my team."

"I'm afraid to say that most of the changes are done somewhere, bekonkeld in an office without change management involved. There's policies being changed, there's policies being flouted and change management isn't involved at all. It is so sad."


■ Alet, current affairs producer: "I returned to the SABC 20 months ago. It was like moving back in time."

"The technology or the lack of technology in this place is shocking. In TV current affairs we're still working on tapes."

"In current affairs there's 7 or 8 cameramen available to all the current affairs programmes. We've been told we can only have one cameraman, per programme, per week. How are we supposed to shoot our inserts?"


■ Nigel Bird, commissioning editor: "The concern is for us the flouting of procurement processes."

"Commissioning editors are tasked with procuring, but somebody come from wayside and will tell you 'This is what you will be doing'. He said: "the SABC is hemorrhaging money."


■ Thandeka Gqubule, economics editor: "We're the victim of inept, ignorant management."

"We are a victim of corrupt management."

"We are politically influenced. Political appointments, political everything. We want a multi-stakeholder board that's representative of the South African public that is drawn from labour, churches, unions and all members of our society. You can see how painful the consequences of political meddling and cadre deployment are. They wreck lives."

"The shadows are still around here. A slew of significant decisions have been made in the last three months: Positions moved around, people moved around, enormously important financial decisions. On what authority have these decisions been made?"

"That MultiChoice contract must go. It wasn't proper, it was illegal and it delays us from going digital."

■ David Webb, independent contract worker: "The over 5 000 employees that are here at the SABC, the majority share, somewhat over 3 000 are independent contractors."

"Is it right for freelancers to be contracted year after year, some employees for up to 20 years, on a year to year contract? The department of labour stated to us that something is not right with the issuing of these contracts".


■ SABC staffer: "This place is shrouded in secrecy. We're being threatened with retrenchment. Yet within the SABC the place is filled with consultants duplicating functions. Yet people are being threatened with being fired."


■ Ukhozi FM marketing executive in Durban: "When I went to Wits for four years, studied and got my honours, it wasn't to date anyone. I studied hard for myself to get better opportunities. It is always about the wrong people, hired at the wrong positions."


■ Lotus FM producer in Durban: "The 90% local content issue, we're facing financial crisis. Lotus FM has been affected drastically in terms of revenue and listenership figures. SABC interim board should try to bring back credibility to the SABC's radio station and TV channels".


■ Bloemfontein staffer: "We at provinces are not properly resourced."


■ Kimberley staffer: "The communication from the SABC as a broadcaster is very poor. The Northern Cape province, where we are, the accommodation is not conducive."


■ Polokwane staffer: "The SABC has lost millions of rands in the Landmark ad booking system, and no-one is looking at who introduced this monster that is costing the SABC so much money."


■ Polokwane staffer: "In Limpopo out of the blue it was announced by then-COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng that Phalaphala FM would move to Thohoyandou without consultation with staff."

"When we asked the acting GE of corporate affairs and raised issues about technical glitches in Thohoyandou to say that building isn't ready to be occupied from, he said you're not going to stop Hlaudi's vision".


■ Polokwane staffer: "The technology in Limpopo is very, very pathetic. We asked for technology to just record something. We have a very old machine. For you to go out and record content outside, it's a nightmare."


■ Polokwane staffer: "I'm wondering if James Aguma, acting SABC CEO isn't part of the problems we are talking about. James Aguma still consults the former COO and he runs to Hlaudi's house after work. That tells us that we're still being run by Hlaudi from the grave".


■ IT website staffer: "In February we had a meeting with our manager where she told us that there's a new company that has been contracted to come and develop 7 websites for the SABC. The company is called Infonomix."

"When we asked if we still have jobs, nobody is able to respond to that. Our unions have tried to ask to find out what is going to happen to us since this company has been contracted for 5 years, and nobody is responding to those questions."


■ Nonnie Jacobs, SABC Sport managing editor: "My worst victimisation is to spend sleepless nights, concerned as to whether I'm going to have a salary."

"As SABC Sport, we need sporting rights. If we don't have rights, are we still a department?"


■ Victor, ABC Sport staffer: "SABC Sport is in ICU. The wheels fell off when we lost the rights. We have a management that thrives on victimisation, not planning, no research."

"Business plans are done last minute, we lost sponsorships, we lose advertisers. Other departments have to be pointed a finger on over our inept handling of responsibility."

"We are not making money for SABC anymore. We are draining money out of SABC. We have a marketing department that we don't know what they're doing."


■ SABC staffer: "Are we going to be retrenched or not? It's a very simple question. Because hearing things in the corridors is unacceptable. And you all know, the SABC, where there's smoke there's fire. Is there money or is there no money? We should not be hearing it from a press release in the media."

BREAKING. Connie Ferguson, Tumisho Masha the big stars in new Landmark soap starting on M-Net in April 2011.

I have the news to break that Connie Ferguson who ditched the SABC1's soap Generations after 16 years earlier this year and the former Isidingo soap star Tumisho Masha are the ''big characters'' in the new half hour weekday soap that will debut on 4 April at 18:00 on M-Net. I can reveal that the new M-Net soap - set on a South African game farm where its also being filmed - have the working title of Landmark. (I gave you a little clue before Christmas RIGHT HERE.)

I can also tell you that Connie Ferguson's real-life husband Shona Ferguson who left e.tv's Scandal a short while ago will also be seen in Landmark, most probably according to industry insiders as the brother of Tumisho Masha's character.

Although M-Net is filming Landmark on location I can tell you that sources close to the set is whispering to me that the game farm where production started is not yet the real one, with props and set pieces being used as stand-ins to make it look ''like the other place'' until the Magic Factory production is moved to the game farm that M-Net actually wants for use the show - apparently somewhere around Magaliesburg. I'm told there is still some administrative zoning and filming requirements that needs to be sorted out before the game farm production move in 2011.

''The big fish is Connie Ferguson,'' another source tells me. ''She's simply wonderful and this is going to be huge for Landmark.'' ''Although the soapie's name could still change, this is a big, big production for M-Net,'' says another. Lots of people are clamouring to get jobs on this show as well as in this show.''

Officially M-Net revealed only the bare minimum about Landmark, not even giving the working title yet. ''Instead of being studio-based, the new soap which has not been named yet will be filmed entirely on location, in a manner similar to the hugely successful South American telenovellas,'' said M-Net in a press release when it confirmed that the show is set on a game farm which I knew months ago, but was told isn't the case.

''The main backdrop to the story will be a stretch of land that is home to a five-star game lodge, presenting the opportunity to make the best of the breathtaking beauty of the African wild. Viewers can look forward to a high-end production shot in high definition which will be filled with drama, passion, feisty characters, wild animals and magnificent South African scenery.''